Lee Jang-woo, the People Power Party's candidate for Daejeon mayor, held a press conference on Thursday and unveiled the "Daejeon Riverview Project," a "Second Traffic Revolution Pledge" to put the Daejeon Stream riverside road underground and transform the surface into a waterfront park.
The plan calls for converting the riverside road stretching from Cheon-dong in Dong-gu to Dunsan-dong in Seo-gu into a passenger-car-only underground tunnel (sub-river tunnel), while transforming the surface area into a waterfront park for citizens.
The Daejeon Stream floodplain is currently used as a riverside road connecting the old and new downtown areas, significantly limiting its function as an ecological and water-friendly space.
Issues have persistently been raised, including recurrent flooding during heavy rainfall, deteriorated residential conditions in the old downtown, delayed redevelopment and reconstruction projects, and damage to river functions.
Given traffic demand of up to 7,300 vehicles per day, a shift to a "multi-dimensional transportation system" is needed rather than simple road expansion.
The "Daejeon Riverview Project" will build a 6.42-km, four-lane road with a design speed of 70 km/h from Cheon-dong in Dong-gu to Dunsan-dong in Seo-gu. Total project costs are estimated at approximately 670 billion won ($490 million), and the plan will first be pursued as a private investment project, with fiscal funding to be reviewed afterward.
Under the concept of "roads underground, nature to the citizens," the plan is to fully bury the riverside road and convert the surface into an ecological and waterfront park to create a "Daejeon-style Cheonggyecheon."
"Separating aboveground and underground spaces will strengthen urban competitiveness, expand waterfront spaces and park infrastructure, maximize traffic efficiency, form an economic belt connecting the old and new downtowns, and raise real estate values through premium waterfront residential environments," Lee said. "We will restore Daejeon Stream to a premium waterfront park, simultaneously elevating citizens' quality of life and the city's asset value."
"This is not a simple road project but an 'urban transformation project' that simultaneously innovates traffic, environment, and the economy," Lee stressed. "Centered on Daejeon Stream, we will create Korea's best waterfront city model connecting the old and new downtowns."
